Hello my name is...

We cannot thank you all enough for all of the wonderful name ideas.  August, William, Landon, Luke, etc... they are all great!!  We decided to name our son Ryder Louis Larson.  Ryder (suggested by Aunt Lindsey) is an English surname that we chose 1) because we just like the sound of it, and 2) because of the Europe vs US Ryder Cup golf tournament-- you all know I love, love, love Europe, so there's my European reference in his name!  Louis is a family name on my side... William Louis (my dad), Oscar Louis (my dad's dad), James Louis (my mom's dad), Britton Louis (my brother), Charles Louis (my Godson and nephew), Charles Louis (my cousin that passed away from Leukemia).... as you can see, the middle name was an easy choice for us.  Larson, of course, forever ties him to his father's wonderful family. 

We started the nursery this weekend.  After cleaning out the guest room (note to self, no more lifting--yikes,that was rough), Eric and my dad put up some bead board yesterday (thank goodness banker's get Columbus Day as a holiday).  We still need to add trim to the top of the board, add the crown molding at the ceiling, and then paint (blue)!

Before

After (still a long way to go)



We went to the Braves game last night... too bad they lost.  Ryder got his first Braves outfit!  Eric loves a souvenir stand!

Other super exciting news...

Congrats to Aunt Lindsey on the new job!!!  Yeah!

Ryder's Uncle Brian and Aunt Liz are moving to Tulsa, Oklahoma later this year.  Sad, but true.  Liz got a great promotion within Siemens... Go Liz!!!  We will really miss you both!!

Two of Ryder's girlfriends were welcomed into the world over the past couple of days.  Our good friends from church, Lindsay and Mike, welcomed a little girl named Vivienne Gail on Friday.  My coworker, Jim, and his wife, Cheryl, welcomed Kiersten Ann yesterday!  Welcome girls... Ryder will be here in a few months to come play!

Beer gardens are not the same

Eric and I went to Der Biergarten downtown tonight to check out their German cuisine.  The atmosphere was quite nice (well decorated), the food was good (I had Jaegerschnitzel and Eric had three different types of Wurst), and the beer was YUM (I had a sip... ohh sweet nectar).  Of course, Eric ordered the liter, and I matched him ounce for ounce with water.  All in all, it is a good spot, and I encourage everyone to go try it (call us, we'll go with you). 

In the spirit of going to Der Biergarten, and Oktoberfest fever is brewing (pun intended) in Helen, GA, I tried on my German dress that we bought during our trip in March.  Needless to say, the dress was not made to fit a growing belly.  Below is a "before" (with my host-Mom, Claudia) and "after" (today).  The picture does not do justice to the extreme tightness.  It took four hands (both of Eric's and both of min) to zip the dress.  Thank heaven it did not bust.  We are going up to Helen in a few weeks with Britt, Lindsey and the boys.  Eric and Charlie are going to wear their Lederhosen! 

March 2010

October 2010

Below is my 21 week belly shot (on my way to work on Friday).  I love casual Friday more than ever now!!

Babysitters Beware

We had our perinatologist visit today regarding the baby's kidneys.  After a super long ultra sound checking every centimeter of his little body, everything thing looks great except there is just a bit too much fluid in the kidneys.  Three things could cause this: 1. "kink" in the tube from the kidney to the bladder, 2. reflux from the bladder sending fluid back into the kidney, 3. he's just "special" and will grow out of it before he's born.  If it is either 1 or 2 and it does not resolve by the time he is 9 mo to a year old, they will do a surgery to fix the problem.  The good news is that this is relatively common and no cause for serious concern. During the visit, we got some great pictures of his feet and profile.  He was quite rambunctious and the doctor warned that we have a wild one on our hands.  Oh dear!

I have started to do some online shopping.  Thank goodness he is a boy... if it was a girl, I would already be looking for a second job to subsidize the spending.  Here's a cute shirt I ordered from a vendor on http://www.etsy.com/.  <UF is Eric's university and Georgia is my university (our teams are rivals).>>

Banana Baby

The little guy is as big as a Banana now and weighs over 10 oz!  Of course, that does little to help explain my 13 lb gain, but oh well.  I just ordered a newborn "House Divided" (UGA/UF) onsie from www.etsy.com, my new favorite shopping website.  From adorable knit hats to custom signs, this website is an online arts and crafts fair!  I love it. 

It is hard to believe we are at the half way point today... only 140 days left.  Keep the name and nursery ideas coming.  Thank you all for your love, prayers, and support! 

Its a BOY!

We had our 20 week appointment today and it is official... little Hitch is a BOY!  I'm sorry I cannot get this picture to rotate left; however, you can see the "full moon" (his little bum), two thighs, and his manhood in the middle.  Eric is proud of his son for representing so well at only 5 months.  The ultrasound found that his heart, spine, and brain all look great.  The baby's little kidneys are actually not as little as they should be (too much fluid) and we have to go to a specialist to get things checked out.  It is a relatively common problem with boys and is detected early due to great ultrasound technology.  The doctor expects the issue to resolve on its own, but we are going to pursue all follow up now and after he arrives as a precaution.  Please keep our little man in your prayers!

Let the buying and nursery design begin!!  Golf anyone... Lars, as my dad affectionately has called him, will likely have a golf themed nursery.  Since we are seriously considering the name Ryder (Ryder Cup reference, thank you Lindsey U), it is only fitting.  Of course, this could all change (no monogram purchases yet)... we shall see.  I will keep you posted.

Hugs to all!



Happy Birthday Eric!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ERIC!!!  Well, the picture is 6 months old (from our ski trip in Austria), but in honor of Eric's birthday and the opening weekend of Der Biergarten (downtown), I thought it was perfect!  We celebrated the big 34 by going to the Falcons game yesterday with Brian, Liz, Justin and Brandy and followed up today (his actually birthday) with yoga and dinner at Joe's (thank you Justin and Brandy!).  Eric does not like to make much fuss over his birthday, but I encourage you all to email him (elarson55@yahoo.com) and send him well wishes!

Der Biergarten... Atlanta's newest German restaurant: http://www.derbiergarten.com/

Countdown to gender confirmation!

First... HAPPY 3rd BIRTHDAY CHARLIE!!!  My adorable nephew turns 3 today.  Everyone send super hero sized birthday wishes to Charlie.

Everything is going well as we complete week 19.  Some chest pains yesterday, but as usual, Eric may have been right that it was stress.  After a quiet night and a long walk this morning, I feel better.  No weight gain to report... must have been the fact that the previous week was a whopping +3!  I think this is the last we will see of my normal jeans... sad, but true.  The hair band holding the button to the loop seems as stressed as work has me!

Hitch got a few new outfits for Eric's birthday from Britt and Lindsey... ok, you can tell they are from Lindsey.  Aren't they sweet!  I bought Charlie a shirt that said, "My Aunt Rocks," a few years ago... being an Aunt is so much fun!! 

Our big 3D gender confirmation appointment is on Wednesday.  Look for a post on Wednesday night!  Have a great weekend!